50 Annoying Business Phrases you hear at Work

50 Annoying Business Phrases You Hear at Work

You know what we are talking about, those annoying business phrases that you hear from managers and colleagues daily. In fact, these irritating pieces of business jargon are used in 64% of offices. Some use these phrases to cover up their lack of knowledge, while others just want to make something sound more impressive. Either way, many find them annoying. Here’s a look at some of the most annoying phrases used at work.

It is what it is

Win-win

Content is king

A lot on my plate

Get the ball rolling

Thanks in advance

Game changer

Par for the course

Back to the drawing board

Apples to apples (compare similar things)

It’s on my radar

With all due respect

‘Elephant in the room

At the end of the day

‘No brainer (so ridiculously obvious)

‘Take this offline

Hit the ground running

Run the numbers

Best practice

Corporate values

Reach out

Low hanging fruit

Do more with less

Ping me

Thrown under the bus

Close of play

The strategic staircase (Also known as a business plan)

All hands on deck

Keep your eye on the ball

Bang for the buck

Dive deeper

Drill down

Get my manager’s blessing

Move the goalpost

This is another way of saying change the rules and make the challenge more difficult.

Empower

According to Jennifer Chatman, professor of management at the University of California-Berkeley’s Haas school, this term is “the most condescending transitive verb ever”.

Supervisors often use it when they want their employees to complete an important task, but want them to know they are still in charge.

Synergise

This term is habit number 6 in Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Successful People.

According to Covey, “Synergy means two heads are better than one.”

Ducks in a row

This term originates from bowling, before they had a machine to set pins automatically.

The bowler would need to get their “ducks in a row” before throwing the ball down the lane.

Try “get organised” instead.

Bite the bullet

This phrase came about during the U.S. Civil War when wounded soldiers would literally bite a bullet during surgery in order to distract from the pain.

Other ways to say it: “Take a difficult step” or “Make a tough decision.”

Open the Kimono

A less creepy way to say this is just to say “reveal the information.”

I don’t have the bandwidth

An annoying way of saying you are too busy.

Across the piece

The phrase has become more popular, and irritating, in the past few years.

Try saying “We should look at all the options” instead.

Cascading relevant information

Try just saying that you are “speaking with colleagues”.

Move the needle

This term is used often among venture capitalists. They want to know that something is going to “move the needle”, or provoke a reaction.

Helicopter view

Try “a broad view of the business” instead.

A 2014 study by the Institute of Leadership % Management found that these three were the most overused phrases used in the workplace: